Embers (The Wings of War Book 1) (20 page)

I chewed the food distractedly.  I should be thinking of a plan to deal with Garrett, but instead, my mind kept drifting to the girl.  I wondered what she was doing at that moment.  The workings of my body slowed to the point of discomfort when I pictured her crystal blue eyes and plump, pink lips.  How I longed to touch her skin, to hold her softness in my arms. 

Smack.
 

The girl vanished from my mind when a dinner roll hit me in the face.  With an aggravated sigh, I threw it back at Lutz who was laughing so hard the table was shaking. 

“Wherever you were brother, looked mighty niiice,” the big bear hollered before he gulped down his milk. The bear man couldn’t help but talk loudly.  He was a giant, taller than Donnelly by several inches.  Garrett had to have special clothes made for him when he first came to us a few years back.

I smiled thinking about the day the big black bear had approached me in the woods and shifted right before my eyes.  He said in his booming voice that he’d been observing us for some time and thought we might be interested in hiring him on.   

Garrett and Charles had brought Cray back from California with them a decade earlier.  It took a long while for the two animals to behave civilly toward one another.  They were always wrestling and testing one another’s strength.  The bear had more shear power than the cat, but Cray could dance around the bear.  And his claws were deadly. 

I glanced over at Cray who was sitting with his back to the wall watching everyone in the room.  The cat never let his guard down.  He was a sneaky one for sure.  His tan hair and light brown skin blended into the pine boards behind him giving him natural camouflage even in his human form. I didn’t trust him—at least not the way I trusted Lutz. The bear would side with me, but he didn’t have a vote.  I knew that Cray was all for the hunt.  He hated humans and would enjoy eating any remains leftover.  Lutz would never eat human meat.  He always lectured the cat, “That just ain’t right, kitty cat!”

When Cray’s gaze landed on me, I turned away.  The last thing I needed was for the cat to become suspicious. 

Ivan was playing with the last of his food, carefully keeping his head down.  From what Garrett had told me, the kid was kidnapped from the mountains in Russia and sold by an old acquaintance of Garrett’s.  Originally, I hadn’t understood why Garrett would bring the wolf here—now it all made sense.  If he really intended to go out into the open, he’d need all the protection he could get.

Another thing that occurred to me was that maybe the reason Garrett had insisted on the wolf going to the school in town was to insure that he hated humans, the way that Cray did.  Ivan had admitted to me about how the other young humans treated him.  Garrett had anticipated it.  A Growler wasn’t much good for guarding against humans if his human side became attached to them.  The girl had already wormed her way into the wolf’s affections.

The girl again—a tremor rippled through me.  Garrett must never know about her.

A breeze stirred in the room as Charlotte, Colton and Patrick came through the door.  They all looked my way.  I subtly shook my head no. I hoped they understood to let the matter rest until we could talk about it later. I was sure the cat and the wolf saw me, but the others were preoccupied.  Their superior attitudes made them less vigilant.  Maybe that could be used against them later on.

When Garrett had everyone present, he stood, hushing the crowd with his palms.  “You all know that the searchers will be here on Wednesday with fresh humans. Today we are going to have a vote on the matter of having another hunt with the new arrivals.  I know some of you have voiced concerns about it, but I feel that it is time that we embrace our true spirits and feed the way we were intended to.  Alas, times are changing, and we need to be strong and well trained to survive.”

He looked around to see that he had everyone’s full attention.  Then he continued,

“The searchers; Jason, John and Bethany, placed their ballot before they left on their quest.  They all voted for the hunts to continue.  So that is three in favor.  All those in favor of the same, raise your hand. 

Most of the hands shot up quickly.  When my friends’ eyes questioned me, I guided them by raising my own hand.  Slowly, their hands went up.  Pricilla and Horas followed suit.  I hated the way they all looked at me though, as if I had betrayed them.

“It’s unanimous then, very good.  A united family is much better than a divided one.”

I caught Horas roll his eyes at Garrett’s choice of words.  The others stood and applauded at that point.  I rose only for the sake of appearances.  

I hoped I could trust Horas.  We’d need him if we were going to succeed.  Having the Roman commander on our side would be an incredible asset. 

I glanced down at Ivan.  He looked thoroughly miserable.  “Hey kid, you better go get some sleep.  You have school tomorrow,” I said a little too briskly, knowing that I would be up most of the night myself.  Luckily, I didn’t need much sleep.

Beneath the worry and agitation about the changes in the compound and what I was going to do, my heart raced with excitement.

For the first time in too many decades to count, I was looking forward to something, and that was seeing Ember again. 

Mark 1:13

And Jesus was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.

Ember ~ Twenty-One

I
sat at the kitchen table toying with my pancakes.  I was so tired.  For the longest time the night before, I’d lain awake in bed thinking about Ivan and Sawyer, and what they were.  Trying to reconcile my mind to the fact that I’d met a Growler and a Demon that day had been too much for my brain to handle.  Adding on Ila’s stories and I wasn’t able to fall asleep until the early hours of the morning. 

When sleep finally did come, I was tormented with worse nightmares than the day of my arrival.  Only this time, Sawyer was not the guardian of my dreams.  Instead, images of blood and gore surrounded him. But these dreams were not the same as the ones before.  They didn’t have the magical quality the others had. 

                I took a deliberate breath and began cutting the pancakes.  I can do this.  Plus, I have special powers.  It will be okay.  Yeah, right.   

“Ila, would you please make some tea that will help me sleep better?” I yawned.   

“Of course my dear, I’d be glad too.  But I fear that you’re being too hard on yourself.  After all, you’ve had a lot of strange things thrown at you in a very short amount of time.”  Ila sipped her coffee at the table.  “In my day, you would have been raised up from a baby in a Watcher’s house.  Everything you are now learning would have been taught to you at its proper time.  To say this is a crash course is an understatement.”

I was thoughtful for a minute.  “As much as I appreciate all that you’ve taught me so far, I never would have traded my life with my parents.” 

“I know, but it has made your path much more difficult than it should be.  Really, I think you’re doing a marvelous job under the circumstances,” she said gently.

“Thanks.”  I breathed deeply as I stood, trying to fill my head with more oxygen in order to wake up. 

Ila motioned for me to sit again.  “One more thing before you go, you need to have faith in your instincts.  You have strong powers of intuition and you must trust them.
 
They will tell you if you’re in danger.  Your instincts will show you the way.”

“I’m not sure if my instincts are working as well as you may think they are,” I muttered.

“What do you mean?”

“I wasn’t that afraid of the Demon.  I already told you, he made me angry.  That wasn’t the right reaction was it?” 

“He must not have been a real danger to you—at least not in the literal sense,” she said with a slight frown.

“How can that be?  He’s a Demon.  He kills people for their souls!” I exclaimed. 

“Things are not always black and white, my dear.  Not even with Demons.”

“You don’t think I should be afraid of him?” I asked incredulously.

“I said to trust your instincts. Remember, he can’t harm you.  You’re much more incredibly strong than he is. You also have an advantage in that he doesn’t know what you are.”

“You’re telling me that if I were to run into him again, I should never let him know that I’m a Watcher?”  I said, fidgeting with the strings on my backpack.

“Never is a long time,” Ila said.  She began clearing the dishes off the table.  “But again, you should trust your instincts.  If it’s not in your best interest to tell him what you are, then don’t.” 

I put the plate with my uneaten pancakes on the floor for Angus and stood up. 

“Doesn’t it bother you that there are Demons living nearby, at least a little bit?”                   

Ila laughed.  “No, it doesn’t bother me.  Their numbers are relatively small.  They keep to themselves.”

If I didn’t leave soon, I was going to be late, but I couldn’t help blurting out, “But who are they killing?”

“I would imagine that they send some of their own kind out to find victims from faraway places.  They wouldn’t hunt around here. That would be too dangerous for them.  They would try to go unnoticed by the locals for as long as possible,” she said convincingly.

“That’s awful.
 
How can you be okay with them killing anyone?”  

“People kill animals all the time don’t they?   People kill people in wars and for much lesser things.  Believe me when I say that humans have done more killing on this planet than anyone or anything else.  I learned a long time ago that the human race can
take care of itself.”  Ila didn’t meet my gaze.  She busied herself at the sink.

I suddenly had the impression of a dark haze swirling around Ila.  The vision disappeared quickly, but the tightness in my gut remained.  Ila wasn’t completely human, and neither was I.  Her harsh views had been formulated from hundreds of years living as a Watcher. I, on the other hand, felt more like a human than a Watcher and saw the world very differently than my mentor. 

I hurried out of the cabin knowing that Ila wasn’t in the mood for any more questions.  It was better that way.  If we stayed on the subject, I was afraid of what she’d say next. 

                                         
*

I reached my first class just as the bell rang.  The rest of the day I was in a rushed state.  Maddie and Lindsey continued to walk me to my rooms even though I knew where I was going.  Seeing Preston waiting at my locker in between classes tied my belly in knots. He was friendly and helpful, as if he were trying to make up for his bad behavior of the day before, but his overly familiar attitude was annoying. 

I saw Ivan several times during the day, but he kept managing to avoid me.  I thought he was doing it on purpose.  Was he intimidated by my questions?  Was he embarrassed by his Demon friend’s actions?  Or was he trying to protect me by not getting involved? 

I was heavy with thoughts when I entered the cafeteria.  I immediately searched the crowded room for Ivan.  I found him in the same place as the day before.  I purposely strode over to him and sat down.  Maddie looked at me questioningly when she walked by.  I motioned to her that I’d be a minute.

“Hey, Ivan, how’s it going?”

“It is going well,” he spoke in a hushed tone, focusing his gaze on the plate in front of him that was overflowing with food.

“What’s the deal with your obnoxious friend?”  I said tartly.

“He felt bad afterwards,” he said, pushing the peas around with his fork.

I studied Ivan for a moment.  His eyes were downcast and his shoulders slumped.  I suddenly felt very sorry for him.  He seemed so alone.  “Do you want to come over and sit with me and my friends?”

“Oh, no, it is nice of you to offer though.  But I prefer to be by myself.”

I looked at him for a few more seconds. He’d made it clear that he didn’t want any company, so why couldn’t I just walk away and forget about him?

Because he’s sad and lonely, even though he’s trying to pretend he isn’t.   

I finally rose and said, “Okay.  Well, I’ll see you around.”

He nodded curtly, but didn’t look up, making me feel even worse.

I had a difficult time being social after the encounter with Ivan, but I tried my best to keep up appearances.  The talk was all about homecoming.  Maddie and Lindsey informed me that I had to go to the game.  I didn’t like being told what to do, but their eagerness softened my agitation somewhat. There was even a chance that Randy and Maddie would be homecoming king and queen, which I guess was a big deal.

My excuses fell on deaf ears and in the end, I surrendered. 

The plans were all made.  I’d be spending the night at Maddie’s after the festivities so that I wouldn’t have to drive back up the mountain late at night. As long as it was all right with Ila that is, but I was betting she’d be fine with it.  She’d probably view it as a wonderful opportunity for me to spy on my classmates using the Watcher sense or to just be a
normal
kid.